


A Sliver of Hope

by amateur_eccentric



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Minor Character Death, Test subject and companion cube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-13
Updated: 2013-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-19 08:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/881704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amateur_eccentric/pseuds/amateur_eccentric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cube with a heart, a trace of hope in the despair that is the life of a test subject.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sliver of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This one started out fluffy and schmoopy, then became... well, it became this. Some sort of cross between sappy fluff and pure angst. I hope it's not awful.
> 
> Disclaimer: Once upon a time, there was a person who could say Portal was his. That person was not me. The end.

I drop from a vent in the ceiling, landing with a heavy "thud" on the cold, hard ground. Although GLaDos has never told me- or any of us for that matter- I know what my purpose is here. I've seen it happen before on the surveillance cameras. While for the most part everyone and everything in Aperture Science is here solely for the purpose of scientific research and observation, I know that I am an exception, and I cling to that, despite the bleak future I know awaits me. I am to be a friend, a glimpse of hope in this cold, lonely world. I am loyal. I will never threaten to stab you. My life is devoted to loving you.

I am a Weighted Companion Cube.

GLaDos starts explaining my purpose to the young girl before me. When I look at her, I finally understand why our lives, though sad, are the most rewarding we can hope for. My painted heart feels as though it is breaking. She appears to be no more than fourteen- far too tender an age for her to be trapped in such a dismal prison as Aperture Science. Her bright blue eyes are filled with that emptiness that comes from living the same routine day after day, year after year, until you are no longer living but merely existing, acting almost like a machine rather than a human being. Yet behind her blank stare shone a curiosity, a trace of youthful optimism that had yet to be wiped out.

A foreign warmth surrounded me as she lifted me gently, tentatively, almost reverently, in her soft hands. A ghost of a smile passed over her face, then transformed into a grin. It was obvious that she had long since stopped listening to the robot's irritating voice, her focus entirely on me.

As she prepares for the challenges of Test Chamber 17, she draws me closer to her chest, snuggling me close to the faded orange of her standard-issue jumpsuit. I feel something odd and new- what is it? I've heard of it somewhere before, but the exact term escaped me at the moment. What was that word again? Ah, yes. This must be what humans called "contentment."

Perhaps I was supposed to be the comforter. At least, that's what I had always believed. Yet at the moment, it feels like I am the one who needs to be comforted. Though I had heard many tales of the testing the humans endured, no mere chatter could begin to describe the hardships. It frightened me. Every time we stepped through a wall and fell out of a ceiling, or dropped through the floor and walked into another room, I panicked. I found myself attempting to cuddle in closer to my friend, but, being only a cube, I could not.

All throughout the test, my friend talks to me. By this point she is all but bursting with happiness. I am all but bursting with happiness as well, and I wish desperately that I could somehow remain with her forever. She tells me of her life before Aperture Science, of how she grew up in a little town with four siblings and two loving parents. She was the baby of the family. All seven members of her family had been captured and had become testing subjects when she was only twelve years old. Since then, she had neither seen nor heard anything about her parents or siblings. I wish I could utter some words of comfort to her, and make a valiant effort at doing so. Upon finding such a feat impossible, I am devastated. But somehow, some way, she looks at me as though she understands. "Thank you," she whispered.

Did she understand me somehow? I don't know. It's worth another try, though. Why are you thanking me? I inquire.

"For being my friend," she said simply, stopping to look at me.

Oh, I say simply, overwhelmed by the simple joy of being able to hold a conversation, and immensely glad that she chose to ignore GLaDOS' commands and listen to me. Then it hits me- we have reached the end of Test Chamber 17.

"You did it. The Weighted Companion Cube certainly brought you good luck. However, it cannot accompany you through the rest of the test and, unfortunately, must be euthanized."

It takes a moment for the meaning of these words to sink in, but at the sight of the incinerator, it is obvious that the realization of what must be done has hit my companion hard.

I feel as though I am dying already as I see my friend's face crumple. "No!" she begs, her voice hoarse. Tears begin to fall freely down her cheeks as she clutches me close to her, refusing to relinquish me. Had I been human, I would have been doing the same.

She cowers in the corner, clinging to me as though her very life depended on it. My little pink heart breaks as I try my hardest to reassure her. I tell her that I understand, that this is just a part of life. I beg her to stay strong, and tell her not to give up hope on finding her family. It takes several minutes, but eventually I convince her that it is for the best. She asks if she will ever see me again. I reply that I don't know.

I truly hope I do. As she trudges to the edge of the incinerator, sobbing, I realize why we were put here. GLaDos does not intend for us to be a comfort, but rather a cruel hoax, a tantalizing taste of friendship. Then we are to be taken away, leaving the test subject even lonelier than before. I hope that is not how my friend remembers me. I hope she remembers me as someone who cared about her. Though I understand now that my purpose here is evil, I feel I did my very best to fight against that evil, providing comfort instead of cruelty.

As I am about to fall, I tell her one last thing before I have to say goodbye forever.

I love you.


End file.
